


Spaceman and Earthgirl

by TheLadySyk0



Series: The New Alternia [11]
Category: Homestuck, The new alternia series - Fandom
Genre: Cultural Differences, F/M, Gen, Troll/Human relationship, accidental Marriage Proposal, marriage angst, relationship difficulties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 03:26:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22009195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadySyk0/pseuds/TheLadySyk0
Summary: Jaunik Kashira is a troll nature photographer sent to Earth on a commission from the empress, Ava King is a human vet. A chance meeting has them falling in love but conflict comes when Jaunik accidentally proposes.Two people navigating cultural expectations, their own pasts, and what it really means to be in love.Teen and up for swearing and some sexual situations.
Relationships: Ava/Jaunik
Series: The New Alternia [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/480700
Comments: 27
Kudos: 34





	1. Introductions and misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys I hope you enjoy! Get ready for some good old fashion MISUNDERSTANDINGS and EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE.

Jaunik Kashira was a green-blooded troll, approximately 13 sweeps old, with horns that swept back in large curves, similar to a mountain goat’s. He was quite tall, but had the unfortunate habit of slouching. In Alternia’s old regime being large seemed to only invite fights from young upstarts out to prove something, and Jaunik, unfortunately for his surroundings on the then ultra-militant planet, was never an aggressive troll by nature. 

However, after the previous empress was overthrown and trollish society began a long and gradual journey to nonviolence, the habit of slouching followed him. Perhaps it was because he happened to have short friends, or maybe it simply made it easier to get through doorways, or it was that seeming a fraction smaller made him more approachable.

Which proved to be necessary, because otherwise he was almost painfully shy. He found it hard to approach people on his own, carrying his tallness and shyness like he was some sort of unforgivably awkward beast that he had to apologize to the world for being. He stuttered sometimes when flustered, but given a topic he was interested in and a willing ear, he could talk for days.

He could talk about his friends, food, and video games, but his most passionate topic was always animals. Alternia as a planet had never been overly concerned about things like biodiversity or the ecosystem, and had been slowly growing more and more polluted. As a juvenile Jaunik began to photograph Alternian animals and lusii to document them before they disappeared, never thinking that it would get farther than simply remembering them and sharing with the few other trolls online who held similar interests. 

He never knew that the girl on his online forum sharing pictures of cuttlefish with overly cutesy captions would go on to overthrow the condescension and become the new empress, or that she would even remember him or his photos.

However, when Earth was discovered by the Alternians, Feferi thought it wise to show the Alternian public more of the new planet, which is how he got a commission from the very throne to photograph Earth’s animals.

This of course led him to where he was now, adjusting the lens of his camera where he lay hidden, focusing on the majestic alien fauna in front of him.

“Oh look at you…” He whispered, snapping shot after shot, “What a beauty.”

The raccoon he was photographing was currently digging through the back-alley trash of a local bar. It held a piece of half-eaten pizza in its tiny hands and began to eat.

Jaunik had never seen anything more beautiful in his life. 

That was, of course, until the back door of the bar opened, shining bright light into the alley, making the raccoon hiss and run away.

“Oh fuck,” a voice slurred from the open doorway, “This isn’t the bathroom.”

At the top of the steps leading into the alley, leaning against the open door, was a human woman. She was wearing a short glittery black dress that caught the light from the bar and sent tiny flecks of color into the alley. With the light from inside the bar haloed around her, Jaunik thought she looked regal, like a queen surveying their kingdom. 

It was a poor kingdom, containing nothing but Jaunik, a couple of raccoons and a lot of trash, but it was a kingdom nonetheless.

Her hair was long, wavy and seemed to be mussed after a long night of drinking. Glitter eyeshadow weighed down already sleepy eyes, and she was carrying her tiny clutch like it weighed much more than it possibly could.

“Alright, not the bathroom!” She put a hand up and announced, still unstable on her feet, “So I’ll just-” However, before she could say the rest of that sentence, her heel caught on a slippery part of the concrete stairs and she fell backwards into the alley.

Jaunik yelped, rising up from where he had been camouflaged among the trash and diving to catch her. He managed it barely, long arms catching her under her knees and the small of her back before he fell back onto the trash, her on his lap.

She blinked, her drink-addled mind taking a moment to process what just happened.

Jaunik stared down at her nervously, unsure of what to say and once again feeling big and awkward and out of place. “Uh… um…” He began to sweat, his ears flicking back as he struggled to think of something appropriate to call her, they had only just met today. “Uh, h-human- I mean w-w- I m-mean-” He winced, swallowing around what felt like cotton in his throat. “E-earth… g-girl? A-are you ok?”

The so-dubbed Earth girl snorted. A slow grin spread across her face as she looked up at him, eyebrows quirked, “I’m peachy, Space-man!”

Jaunik’s brow furrowed, “Y-you can’t actually be from space you know, I-I’m from a planet.”

She grinned wider at that, sticking a finger in his face like a lawyer capitalizing on a key fact. “A planet, IN SPACE!”

That startled a laugh out of Jaunik, “B-by that logic we’re both space people since uh E-earth is also in space.”

She raised her finger as if to argue the point but retracted it, “Good point…” She stiffened in his lap suddenly, “Wait holy CRAP why were you laying down in the alley?” She sat up in his lap and took his face in her hands, squishing his cheeks together before maneuvering his face this way and that, searching for injuries, “You aren’t hurt are you?”

Jaunik shook his head but not hard enough to dislodge the gentle warm hands on his face and was silently pleased that they stayed right where they were. “N-no I w-was photographing animals.”

The girl’s eyes lit up, “Oooo! Can I see?”

Jaunik smiled, handing her his camera. His cheeks suddenly went cold without her hands there, even as he felt a warm blush work its way across his face.

She held the camera over her, still across his lap as she clicked through the images. She laughed, kicking her stilletoed feet and Jaunik distantly realized that she had a run in her stockings.

“Ha!” She giggled clicking through the photos, obvious glee across her face as she leaned back, her long hair brushing his thigh. “He’s eating pizza! Like a person!”

She sat up then, wiggling in his lap and he felt frozen on the spot, remembering their positions.

She tilted her head back, pinning him with large eyes. “I’m still in your lap.” She whispered, like it was some sort of secret, her eyes glittering under the fringe of her hair.

“I-I’m aware.” Jaunik swallowed around a lump in his throat, cursing how he stuttered that last sentence out.

“Ok but like hear me out,” she leaned against him, “I don’t think I wanna move, you are like, insanely comfortable.”

Jaunik flushed, “It’s uh, it’s cold out here though.”

She huffed, “Yeah true.” She stood up then, leaving the comfort of his lap. He embarrassingly enough missed her mammalian warmth. She looked down at him, one of the straps of her dress falling down her shoulder. “Come inside with me and I can sit in your lap there.”

Jaunik could feel his blush reach the tips of his ears, his throat releasing something like a strangled chitter and squeak, “W-what?”

She grinned, slow and wide. Flirtatious in the way she angled her body, the low tone of her voice. “I’m Ava by the way.”

Jaunik stiffened, “H-” He shook his head, “That’s not nearly long enough to be a name.”

Ava gave him a look, obviously caught off-guard as she choked back a laugh, “Yes it is! Ava is a perfectly respectable name!”

Jaunik frowned, looking down at his hands instead of up at her, though her knee and the run in her stockings were still in his field of vision. “Well maybe if your name was ‘Avaahh’ or ‘Aavaah’ but as it is ‘Ava’ can in no way meet the 6 letter requirement.

She laughed, “You can’t just lengthen a person’s name!” She grinned, “Go on, what’s your name then?”

Jaunik stiffened, “M-me? I-” He swallowed, “Well we haven’t even been introduced and-”

She prodded him gently, “Come on I’ve been in your lap, I’d say we’re pretty well introduced.”

“J-jaunik.” He squeaked out, unsure if when she fell on him he cracked his head against the concrete. “My name is Jaunik.” This entire conversation seemed so far out of the realm of the possible he was beginning to suspect he was unconscious and bleeding in the alley after a raccoon threw something at him.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Jaunik,” Ava tested the name in her mouth, mulling it over. She smiled, a gleam in her eye. “Alright from now on you’re ‘Jan’.”

Jaunik stiffened, “What?”

Ava grinned, “You lengthened my name so I’m shortening yours, fair is fair!”

Jaunik grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck, a green blush across his cheeks, “I- I ok. Y-yeah that’s fair.”

Ava snorted, pointing a finger at him and poking him right in the cheek where his blush was the darkest. “Ha! You’re blushing!” She leaned back, still a little unstable on her feet, “Don’t worry I’m like 80 to 90 percent joking. Lemme buy you a drink for saving my life.”

Jaunik’s mind was spinning, “T-trolls can’t digest alcohol.”

She pouted, taking his sleeve and tugging ineffectually. “Then lemme buy you a fruit juice? Trolls can get drunk off of sugar, right?”

Jaunik smiled, his ears flicking forward. “O-kay, one fruit juice.”  
  


Jaunik was halfway through his fourth cup of juice, pineapple-sticky glasses littering the table as he tearfully told Ava about pigeons.

“A-and they were brought to this continent as a d-domestic animal!” he stiffed, overcome with emotion for the little birds, “A-and everyone treats them like they’re nothing but pests! T-they were meant to be companions and m-messengers but now they live in the garbage and are h-hated unjustly by the people who brought them here in the first place!”

Ava sniffed, tears shining in her eyes, but not falling, as they were both overcome with emotion. She held a martini glass, the table littered with far more of the dirtied glasses. “People are so cruel!” She told him feelingly, “Fuck, dude. Have you ever seen a dolphin?”

Jaunik stared into his glass, trying to remember what a dolphin was, leaning his face against the sticky table. “N-no?”

“They’re aq-aquatic mammals,” Ava slurred, “And they’re amazing. They’re like crazy smart! Like, people-levels of smart.” She shook her head, “But people are like, hunting them and destroying the ocean where they live!”

Jaunik gasped, his head lurching up from the table to gape at her, a sticky napkin sticking to his cheek, “No!”

Ava threw up her hands, “I KNOW!” She leaned in conspiratorially, “Octopusseses, or-or-orange-utans, fucking gorillas! They’re all SMART AS SHIT but they have NO RIGHTS!”

Jaunik clasped his cup of pineapple juice to his chest, spilling most of it, “That’s- that’s awful! Our species always thought yours was the only lusii-level or- or- organism on this planet.”

The bartender put another martini in front of Ava, “Compliments of that gentleman in the booth.”

Jaunik and Ava leaned over to see an older balding man in a nice suit waggle his eyes at Ava.

“Oh,” Jaunik smiled, “That’s nice of him. H-humans are always doing nice things for each other.”

Ava huffed, “No offense, but it really doesn’t sound like humans very well.” She sent a fake smile over her shoulder at the other man and tittered out an overly-cute but ultimately hollow “Thank youuuu~” before turning back to Jaunik and downing the martini in one go.

She slammed the glass onto the table counter, “God everyone on this planet is a fucking moron.”

“I mean like…” Jaunik paused, “I- I don’t think you’re right in thinking that humans aren’t nice. Also, remember you’re on this planet too when you make generalizations.”

She looked over at him from over the dirtied martini glasses between them. Her hair was in her face as she gave him a wry smile. “Oh no I’m definitely counting myself among the dumbasses.”

The bartender sighed and handed her yet another martini, “Guy in the weird coat by the door this time.”

Jaunik leaned over to see the greasiest human he had ever seen making eyes at Ava.

Ava sent another plastic smile over her shoulder, “Thank youuu~” She turned back to Jaunik, “7.53 Billion godforsaken dumbasses on this stupid rock,” she chuckled, downing the second drink, taking the skewered olive out of the alcohol and flinging it vaguely behind her. “And me!” She pinned him with a look, “Besides, how could you possibly know what humans are like? How many of us do you even know?”

Jaunik shrugged, “I’ve only been on assignment here a week so uh, you. You’re the first one I really met so-” He smiled “I guess that means you set the standard for me, since uh, you’re so nice.”

Ava stared at him. She motioned vaguely at him, her hands flailing. 

Jaunik fidgeted where he sat, not sure what he had said wrong.

“Oh my god, you’re serious.” She threw her hands up, “You-You can’t just go around town saying shit that heartfelt and sweet, Jesus CHRIST that should be illegal.”

Jaunik’s ears flicked back, “I-I mean I’m not? Going around town saying that, I-I mean. Like I said you’re the first person I’ve really met here and-”

Ava put her hand to his face, “No, no, you stop that with your adorable earnestness I don’t know how much more I can take.”

Jaunik’s ears flicked forward, unsure of what she was trying to say.

Ava seemed to come to a decision, her eyes hooded as she looked at him. “Hey…” She leaned forward, a small teasing smile on his face, he could smell the spice of her perfume, “Do you uh… Want to stop by my apartment for uh… coffee?”

Oh, Jaunik had never had coffee before. He nodded, “Yes.”

Ava grinned, “Nice, let’s get out of here.” She stood up, shrugging on her coat and tugging Jaunik up out of his chair. “Bye Gary.” She waved to the bartender as she shooed Jaunik out the door, Jaunik downing the last of his juice before setting the glass on the counter.

The bartender motioned to Jaunik’s empty glasses of pineapple juice, “Hey you owe me for the juice!”

Ava rolled her eyes, pushing Jaunik out the door before following him out, “Charge it to the fuck in the suit.”

With that both of them were released into the cold night. Jaunik’s head was spinning slightly and he tipped it back, taking a deep breath of air to steady himself.

Ava called a cab, pushing Jaunik into the back seat before settling in next to him.

Jaunik watched the slow roll of the city go by the partially fogged-up window. Human cities had a different feel to them, it was like someone took the time to care about how things looked and not just how efficiently workers could travel to their assigned stations. He’d never seen a park before he came here, not a real one anyways, one open to just anyone to wander in. Seadwellers sometimes had gardens, and of course there are rural places where you could still be in nature, but never a public park. He should tell the Empress about parks when he sent his next batch of photos in, that seems like something Feferi would like.

He pointed at a building with statues of animals in front of it. “What’s that?”

Ava leaned over his shoulder to look, “What, the zoo?”

Jaunik looked back at her, his ears flicking, “What’s a zoo?”

Ava shrugged, “They keep exotic animals there for people to learn about.”

Jaunik’s eyes were wide, “Can we go there?”

Ava snorted, “They’re closed now.”

Jaunik frowned for a moment before turning a hopeful look to Ava, “W-would you take me? You know, if you ever had time that is.”

There was something unreadable in Ava’s eyes, scanning over his face as if expecting some sort of hidden barb to the innocent question. “Y-yeah.” She nodded slowly, “Yeah I’d take you to the zoo.”

Jaunik lit up then, smiling at her warmly.

Ava cursed under her breath before leaning up towards the cab driver. “Look I’ll give you a twenty-dollar tip if you fucking step on it, ok?”

Jaunik’s ears flicked, “Step on w-” he began to ask before he was jerked back in his seat by the cabbie’s sudden acceleration.

The cab driver dropped them off in front of a rough-looking apartment complex. Ava pulled him in past the cracked glass door, through a vestibule where someone was sleeping, and up a couple of flights of stairs before stopping at a particular door and fishing out her keys.

There was a mouse in the hallway.

Jaunik tried to pull out his camera but unfortunately wasn’t quick enough. He took out his paper and pencil, though he found he was a bit too inebriated to write well, going over the lines despite himself. “Brown, most likely female, wild deer mouse,” he slurred, “New York.”

“Finally,” Ava whispered to herself, heedless of his ramblings as she opened the door to her apartment.

After this, a bunch of things happened at once for Jaunik.

First, Jaunik saw the inside of her apartment and he thought to himself, “Well those are some nice windows. I wonder if she’d let me birdwatch here-” but before he could voice the thought, suddenly Ava had kicked off her heels, grabbed a hold of his belt with one hand, and used that leverage to half climb him, half pull him down for an insistent kiss. He whirled for leverage, his hands landed on her shoulders, squeaking into her mouth.

She bit his lip, leaning back to smile and whisper, “Holy shit you’re so cute, how are you even real?” And with that the hand on his belt slipped into his pants and-

Jaunik yelped, his lanky arms pinwheeling as he fell, taking both him and Ava to the ground. Ava yelled, landing on Jaunik’s chest hard. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” He sat up, Ava in his lap as he looked her over, “Are you ok?”

Ava grimaced, “Are you ok? Sorry, I was trying for a smooth seduction there but I think I missed.” She rubbed the back of her neck, “I thought you were picking up the signals I was laying down, but uh…”

Jaunik shook his head frantically, “I d-didn’t but I’m not obverse to being s-seduced!” he stuttered out and immediately regretted ever being hatched, “I m-mean…”

Ava waited patiently, her head cocked to the side as he struggled to get the words out.

He waved his hands, trying to illustrate, huffing in frustration before trying words again. “Y-you’re one of the only people who’ve ever felt the same way about pigeons as I do.” He grimaced, his shoulders hunching, “It was just too much at once.”

Ava shrugged, looking away awkwardly and tucking a bit of hair behind her ear.

“I mean…” Jaunik gave her a sheepish look, “We could watch nature documentaries on Netflix instead?” He looked away, his ears flicking down, “I-if you’d like, I mean.”

Ava sat up, a small smile on her face, “You know what? I’d like that actually.”  
  


Hours later, the two of them were curled up on Ava’s couch, the low and soothing voice of the narrator washing over them. The blanket was across their laps and there was a bowl of popcorn between them. Jaunik was fast asleep.

Ava watched his sleeping face. Every time she thought he couldn’t get cuter he did something else hopelessly endearing. She pulled the blanket up around his shoulders, “Goddamn it you adorable bastard,” She whispered, careful not to wake him up. Ava leaned against his side, feeling exhaustion weigh down her eyelids as she yawned, “I guess you can stay for the night.”

And with that both of them were asleep.  
  


Ava King was a human woman, approximately 27 years old with coffee and cream skin and long wavy black hair. She was pleasantly curvy, but quite short. She was pretty in her own way, but plenty of girls were, and most people would expect her to blend into the crowd.

But something about her demanded to be set apart. The glint in her eye was like the shine off a knife’s edge, the twist to her lips as she looked at you the disapproval of a queen looking down at a prisoner, her presence was like being in a room with a live viper, both captivating and terrifying at the same time.

However, this was no accident. Long ago Ava took a look at the yielding and naive girl she once was and began to carve away her softness, like hands digging into clay, inch by slow inch until she felt as if she was live marble, impervious and unmalleable.

It started when she was a young girl, staring down at her book with a wry twist to her lips as she listened to her parents scream in their apartment kitchen, turning the page to the tune of dishes breaking.

It continued when the police came and told her to pack a bag, and that they would be taking her away. She didn’t cry as she picked up her curiously already packed backpack. She didn’t cry when she passed her mother sobbing in the kitchen. She didn’t cry when her father screamed at her, the angry man being held back by other officers. She simply put her backpack into the back of the squad car and sat down, watching the city go by.

When the older boy at her foster home tried to push her around she was ready for it. She had a small pouch of quarters in a tied off sock at the end of her mitten. He never did expect a right hook from a girl that small. They didn’t bother messing with her again.

She grew up, got herself through college and into veterinary school. She was loud, she had opinions on just about everything under the sun. This was both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness, drawing people to her, but more often than not pushing them away just as fast.

The people who got to stay were few and far between, but she liked it that way for the most part. Most of her lovers were gone from her bed the next day, but there were two times in her life she fell in love.

He met her when she had first moved into her own apartment, still going through the transition to marble, when there was still softness to her, heart shyly bared for him. 

Sam was charming, with opinions louder than hers, but they found a certain kind of rhythm to their clashes, fire and ice, explosive and passionate. Laying next to him in bed and watching the strong line of his muscled shoulder she dared to imagine a life with him.

She had trusted him, and that was the worst part when she found a single long blonde hair on his hoodie. She had told herself that she was being paranoid when she followed him from work in her car, until he went to a different apartment and was greeted by a kiss from another woman.

When he came back to her apartment she was ready for him, back ramrod straight at the kitchen table and hellfire in her eyes.

“Who is she?” Ava demanded, watching his face carefully.

“Who?” He asked blithely, going to her refrigerator and rummaging through. Somehow that made her even angrier, like he was insulting her intelligence, that he thought he could try and weasel out of this instead of facing what he’d done.

Ava’s lip curled, “The other woman.”

He laughed, hand to the back of his neck as he looked down at where she sat, “She’s not-”

Ava shook her head, “Oh for fucks sake Sam, I saw you two together! You can’t-”

He shook his head, “No I mean-” He sighed, looking down at her pityingly, “She isn’t the other woman,” He motioned to Ava, “You are.”

Ava stared at him.

“Come on Ava,” Sam huffed, his brows quirked, “We both know you’re not wife material, are you?”

  
  
  


That night Ava drove to the woods, leaving her car door open as she stalked through the trees, a can of gasoline in one hand and a paper grocery bag in the other.

She burned his X-box and his hoodies, yelling out into the night as she tore the fabric in her hands before throwing it to the fire. She probably fit the crazy ex girlfriend stereotype at the time, and she knew if Sam saw her then he would just sigh and look at her as if she proved him right, as if he was the intellectual between them because he could hurt people, call it ‘logic’ and feel no remorse.

Even just thinking of him and his smug little smile made her want to hit him with her car.

Ava sat on a stump, staring into the fire as she smoked a cigarette and she thought that in some ways he was right. She never exactly had a gleaming example of marriage to look up to when she was a kid, but she’d seen TV and movies and she knew what the ideal was at least.

She wasn’t soft, she wasn’t demure, she couldn’t cook for shit, and she had no idea how to fold a fitted sheet. There wouldn’t be any soft mornings for her, where she made her spouse breakfast and they shared a kiss in the soft golden of the morning. She wouldn’t be the one in an apron and holding a tray of cookies as she beamed at children running around on Christmas day.

She took one last draw of her cigarette before flicking it into the fire, thinking bitterly that the blonde woman probably knew how to cook.

As she stood up from her stump, brushing off the leaves from where they had stuck to her sweatpants she resigned herself to her lot. So maybe she wasn’t wife material, so what? The blonde woman could keep Sam. She was always better taking care of herself anyways. She’d spend her life doing what she wanted to do, not letting who she is be dictated by someone else.

It was like the last piece of her softness was also on the bonfire the night after Sam broke her heart. She didn’t have any softness left to offer someone else, only bitterness and marble-hardness.

She’d stay aloof, she’d stay unattached, and she’d never have to deal with having her heart being broken ever again.

She walked back to her car, looking at her own wild reflection in the rear-view mirror. The leaves in her hair, the soot-stained tank top and the hard look in her eyes.

Live for herself first and foremost, not letting anyone else play with her heart.

How hard could that be?

  
  
  


The morning after Jaunik and Ava fell asleep on Ava’s couch, she woke up slowly to the first light of the morning, cushioned against his chest. It had been awhile since someone had stayed this long, and for a moment she was uncomfortably reminded of those mornings with Sam, watching the broad line of his shoulders silhouetted in the morning sun as he slept turned away from her, rising and falling with his breath.

However, instead of sleeping turned away from her, Ava always reaching out for him, Jaunik was facing towards her, his lanky frame curled around her. His face was slack with sleep, his long hair messy around his face and his mouth open.

She brushed his hair out of his face, a frightening sort of tenderness for him sparking in her chest.

He opened his eyes then and Ava was reminded of a friend of her’s saying how she couldn’t get over the slitted eyes in the Alternians, the grey skin, how their long ears twitched and the slightly different structure of their faces. He was alien, that much she couldn’t deny, but in an odd way she found it comforting. 

She couldn’t find a creature more different than Sam if she tried.

“Hey,” He whispered, a small smile on his face.

She smiled back, “Hey.”

Ava mentally prepared for each scenario she could think of for what could happen next. They hadn’t had sex last night, so maybe he would want to have sex this morning before he left? Or maybe there might be time for breakfast before that. Or maybe he would want to leave right away and there would be an awkward goodbye period as they disentangled and-

He looked hopeful, looking up at her with his ears perked forward, “Do you still wanna go to the zoo?”

Ava paused, letting it sink in. “Yeah,” She whispered back, her brows perking up, “Yeah I still wanna go to the zoo.”

  
  
  


Ava would later muse that after that it seemed that their goodbyes she always envisioned never happened. They went to the zoo the day after, she bought him popcorn and he bought her ice cream, Ava smiling as he spent more time taking pictures of the squirrels stealing food from the picnic area than any of the more exotic animals.

Then Sundays at the zoo became a routine, as well as Friday movie night, and then Wednesday dinners, and then them spending her lunch breaks on Monday together.

So the ‘goodbyes’ never happened, they just turned into ‘see you tomorrows’.

She could never quite pinpoint the moment he became essential, when her quiet declaration of living her life just for herself gained an exception. She had always worried there would be another Sam, someone who took up every part of herself until she didn’t even know who she was without them anymore, she didn’t consider the possibility of gently making room next to her life for another.

Never demanding or pushing, just a lanky body next to hers on the couch, both of them enthralled in a nature documentary, take-out in the evenings when their experiments with cooking didn’t work, her having a cup of coffee in the living room and watching him on her balcony, cooing to the birds that always seemed drawn to him, landing on his shoulders and horns.

And someone who finally shared her opinions on pigeons.

Ava had once drunkenly complained about him to one of her friends in a bar.

“You don’t get it, Jess,” Ava’s words were slightly slurred, an impressive amount of martini glasses on the tables, “He’s perfect, I hate it.”

Jess swirled her own drink pensively, “Didn’t you say he once tried to steal a squirrel from central park, almost got arrested for ‘liberating’ the beta fish from a pet store, and cried while watching Air bud with you?”

Ava tossed her head back, throwing her hands up in the air, “Just like I said! Perfect!”

Jess patted her hand consolingly, “Whatever, you say Ava.”

Ava sniffed, “He’s just so, kind and sweet. I don’t get it.”

Jess gave her a small smile, “What you don’t get is that you found a good man Ava, surprisingly those still exist.” She took a swig of her own drink, “At least in space still.”

Ava had leaned her head against the table and thought about that for a moment. Jess was right, he was good in a way that terrified her. She had thought so cynically for so long and he made her rethink everything.

And worst of all, she loved him for it.

Soon after that, they moved in together when Ava found out he was living in a ‘Wildlife photographer’s encampment’ under the bow bridge in central park.

“I don’t know why it’s such a problem,” Jaunik told her one day in the park, his shoulders covered in a camouflage blanket, his camera in his hands and a canteen on a hip, “This is usually what I do when I’m in the wilds of a strange new planet.”

Ava gave him a look from where she was sitting on a bench opposite from him, her sunglasses low on her nose. A mother and a baby carriage rolled down the path between them. Ava rubbed the bridge of her nose, “You’re not in the wilds of anything here dude,” She tossed her second pair of keys at him, beaning him between the eyes, “We’re going back to my apartment, you’re taking a proper shower and then we’re falling asleep to the new Netflix documentary.”

Jaunik flailed, finally catching the keys. He raised a finger as if to bring up a point.

“And no, what you’ve been doing doesn’t count as a proper shower!” Ava glowered at him, her hands on her hips, “If I’d known you’ve been bathing in the central park river I wouldn’t have tried so hard to fuck you when we first met.”

Jaunik smiled slyly, “Saying ‘Not tried so hard to fuck you’ implies that you still would’ve tried.”

Ava sighed, “Ok yeah I probably still would’ve,” She pointed an accusing finger at him, “But I’m not proud of that fact though!”  
  


That was about 4 years ago now, and their lives had since comfortably slotted together. Ava and Jaunik were perfectly happy with their relationship. They were happy! They were all the needed. Their relationship was really good, there was nothing either of them wanted or needed.

They were fine!

Everything was fine.

  
  
  


They were on one of their customary Sunday trips to the zoo when Jaunik’s shoelaces came undone. They paused where they had been walking along the walkway surrounding the flamingo exhibit.

“Ava hang on,” Jaunik wiggled his foot uncomfortably, “I gotta tie my shoes again.”

Ava shrugged, looking out at the flamingos, licking absently at her ice cream cone. “Yeah sure, hand me your camera so you don’t scratch the lens again.”

Jaunik put the camera strap over her head before leaning in for a kiss, “Thank you!”

Ava laughed, pushing him back slightly, “Come on and tie your stupid shoe,” She huffed, a small smile on her face, “I wanna see the Tamarins again before we leave.” She then started fiddling with his camera, going through some of the more recent pictures on his phone. “I really like the lighting on the picture of the mouse standing on a hot dog in the trash can.”

“Thanks,” Jaunik smiled, kneeling down on one knee and tying his shoelaces, “It’s definitely my favorite of the day!”

Jaunik was about to stand up when he saw something nestled under the bushes. He reached in, picking up the little glittery thing and inspecting it closely.

It was a tiny dolphin-shaped mood ring. He saw some similar ones in the gift shop earlier.

“Hey Ava!” Jaunik held the ring up to her from where he was kneeling, “Look at this!”

Ava looked up from his camera, “What Ja-”

Jaunik was expecting a look of mild amusement, Ava liked dolphins so maybe she’d keep it, or maybe she’d roll her eyes and tell him to stop picking up trash again but-

A look of abject horror crossed over Ava’s face, like so many of her worst fears were coming true in that moment in that sunny zoo next to the flamingo exhibit.

Ava snatched the ring from his hand and tossed it out over the barrier and into the exhibit, flamingos honking and scattering as the ring was thrown in their midst.

Jaunik stared over at where Ava had thrown the ring, obviously confused. 

“What the hell were you thinking?” Ava yelled, hugging herself around the middle as if she didn’t she would burst into a thousand sharp-edged pieces. 

Jaunik stood up, brushing off his pants. He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to calm her down but she shrugged him off, “I don’t understand, I thought you liked dolphins?”

That only seemed to make Ava angrier, “You need to talk to me before pulling off something stupid like that! If you had, you would’ve known that I didn’t-”

Jaunik had his hands out in front of him, “How could I have asked you about this ahead of time? I only just found it under the bushes now!”

That made Ava pause, “Just now?” 

Jaunik nodded frantically, “Just now!”

Ava released a shuddering breath, “You just found it now, oh my god.” Her shoulders slumped and she sat heavily down on a park bench. “God you scared the hell out of me.”

Jaunik leaned down, trying to look her in the eyes as her face was downcast, “Ava, is there something that I’m not getting because-” He froze when he saw her face, horrified to see tear tracks across her cheeks.

Ava didn’t cry.

She watched Marley and Me with Jaunik just that past week and didn’t shed a tear while Jaunik was a blubbering mess.

Something was very wrong.

"Ava!" Jaunik gasped, near panic, "You're crying!"

Ava blinked, putting a hand to her cheek and wiping, seeming almost astonished at her own tear-wet fingertips. “Shit.”

“Ava?” Jaunik hovered nearby, unsure of what he did or how to help.

Ava shook her head, standing suddenly, shoving her purse into his hands, and walking very quickly to the public bathrooms, “I’ll be back in a second.”

Jaunik held her purse in front of him, watching the stiff line of her shoulders as she left for the restrooms, “Ava?”

And with that he stood alone on the walkway.


	2. Shadow of the altar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ava and Jaunik have a moment after Ava's outburst at the zoo. Jaunik does some research. Misunderstandings happen and feelings are hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a million years. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Ava sniffed where she sat in the bathroom stall at the zoo, vulgar graffiti staring her in the face as she desperately tried to control the tears still streaking down her cheeks and the way her heart was still pounding in her chest

She wiped her face, bringing her hand back so that she could look at the tears on her fingers. When had been the last time she’d cried? She hadn’t even cried when she left home, or when Sam cheated on her.

She took a deep shuddering breath, slumping over to hug her knees, letting her long hair form a curtain around her. 

She had thought that the question of marriage had been permanently forestalled with Jaunik, that him being an alien meant that they’d never have to have that particular conversation, that he’d never have to know that she wasn’t ‘marriage material’.

That she wouldn’t have to eventually disappoint him.

She had dropped her guard around him, and so when she saw him on his knees with that stupid little ring it was like all of her worst fears manifesting.

She swallowed, pulling back her hair with a hand.  _ It’s alright though  _ She shuddered out a breath  _ he didn’t mean it. _

Something traitorous in her though thought-  _ Imagine if he did. Don’t you wish though that for once in your life that you were marriage material? That you could give him this? _

The thought put a lump in her throat.

It was a stupid thought. They didn’t need marriage. They were doing fine. And if the thought of a ring on his finger that matched her’s was appealing, it was because of her stupid societal conditioning.

Yeah that’s it.

_ And he wouldn’t want that _ . She reminded herself quietly, trying to ignore the way the thought made her heart sink.  _ If he knew what it meant he wouldn’t want that. He wouldn’t want to marry you. _

Ava heard the sound of the restroom door opening, the sound of bustle outside of children and animals louder for a moment before being silenced again. She wiped her cheeks. Great, on top of everything some random mom is going to hear her crying in a bathroom stall like some sort of-

“Ava?” Jaunik whispered into the bathroom, his voice loud in the tiny concrete space.

Ava lifted her head, “Jaunik?”

She heard Jaunik sigh with relief and move further into the bathroom. He sat on the other side of the stall divider by the sink. “Are you alright?”

Ava huffed, wiping her eyes. “Yeah… Yeah I’m ok.”

“Are you sure?” Jaunik asked from the other side of the divider, reaching his hand under to offer it to Ava, “Because I’m here for you if you need me!”

Ava snorted at his outstretched hand. There was something ridiculous but sweet about the fact that her alien boyfriend followed her into the restroom to offer reassurance.

Ava quirked up her brows, “You know you’re in the women’s restroom, right?”

Jaunik’s hand that was under the stall waved away the concern, making her laugh silently. “Ha! I don’t have to follow your human gender,” Jaunik reasoned, “Unless you want me to leave?” he asked, a touch of uncertainty in his voice.

“No,” Ava whispered, taking his hand in hers and pulling it up so that she could press a kiss to his knuckles, “No I don’t actually want you to leave.”

They leaned against the divider between them, their hands clasped. Ava looked down at his grey fingers intertwined with hers and for a moment she thought it would be so easy, so easy to tell him what was wrong, what she wanted and what she feared, and to see a gold band on both of these hands held so tenderly together and-

“Come on Hannah, mommy’s gonna clean you up and-”

Ava could hear the other woman come into the restroom and stop, presumably staring at Jaunik who was reaching under the bathroom stall. Ava quickly calculated just how not good this probably looked.

“Good morning!” Jaunik greeted, waving his other hand.

The woman left suddenly, probably to get security. Ava sighed.

“Come on,” Ava let go of his hand and stood up, “We should leave before we get kicked out again.”

The ride back home was tense. Ava drove as she always did (Jaunik kept failing his human driving exam, and after the third time he panicked and hit something the both of them just silently agreed that Ava should drive from now on).

Usually they would talk, listen to the radio, their free hands clasped leisurely by the gear shift. This time though the radio was off and the both of them didn’t speak. Jaunik kept his hand between them, a silent gesture, offering comfort-

-But Ava didn’t take it. Instead she kept both hands on the wheel, her eyes staring through the windshield.

Something happened between them, Jaunik was sure of it, and it all had something to do with that little ring.

They went up to the apartment, Jaunik following behind Ava who never did quite look back at him. He studied the line of her shoulders, wishing she would look at him, say something, but she never did. She opened the door, shucked off her shoes and immediately headed for the bedroom.

“Ava?” Jaunik asked quietly, wringing his hands together.

Ava’s shoulders tensed, stopping at the doorway of the bedroom and half-looking back at him, still not quite willing to look him in the eye. “I’m going to go lay down.”

Jaunik knew that that was code for ‘I’m upset and no I don’t want to talk about it’ but he worried about letting whatever happened by without it being addressed. He swallowed, thinking for a moment before he decided to press the issue. 

“Ava we have to-” Jaunik stepped forward but Ava shook her head, her hand out to stop him.

“Later?” She whispered,“Can we please talk about it later?”

It was the way she said it, quiet and almost pleadingly, her arms wrapped protectively around her middle that broke Jaunik’s resolve. He nodded and Ava gave him a grateful smile.

With Ava gone Jaunik fidgeted restlessly in the living room. Something had happened between them at the zoo and now something was wrong, very wrong. He had known Ava for three years now and she didn’t cry, she didn’t plead quietly for him to drop subjects, she didn’t _ hide things from him _ and it broke Jaunik’s heart in a million places.

He considered himself a good matesprit-boyfriend, and he would try to solve this as any good boyfriend-matesprit would.

Being a troll on earth dating a human was often an exercise in studying both human nature and culture, so perhaps research was the ideal place to start. 

Most of the results mentioned something about marriage…

  
  


Jaunik hummed, that didn’t sound too bad, so why was Ava so upset? He had the worrying thought that perhaps the ceremony, the so-called “wedding” was an unpleasant rite of some sorts. When learning of human nature and culture before he could always count on Netflix documentaries, so he went to Netflix and typed in “Wedding,” steeling himself for blood rituals or the ceremonial eating of flesh (Ava had to assure him that it was actually bread and wine that he had seen in the previous documentary, and that the baby some weird man in a robe had dunked in water was completely fine, but Jaunik still had nightmares about it for weeks).

Thankfully it seemed that Netflix was well-equipped for his inquiry.

Jaunik read through the titles. There was “A Christmas Wedding”, “A Country Wedding”, “A Harvest Wedding”, “A Valentine’s Wedding”, and “A Royal Wedding” among many others. Jaunik wasn’t quite sure why there were so many types, but he was grateful to the Hallmark documentary filmmakers for their diligence on this subject. He got out a pen and notebook and pressed ‘play’.

Hours later he was still completely enthralled. He watched over and over again what turned out not to be a blood ritual but instead a heart-warming affirmation of love and commitment between two individuals. Jaunik watched as the human lead man lifted a veil from the human lead woman’s face, her blonde hair interwoven with daisies as she smiled at the human man lead with so much love in her eyes and-

Jaunik thought of Ava’s dark curly hair and how lovely daisies would look there.

He wanted to tell all of their friends how much he loved her. He wanted to let her know that he wanted a forever with her. He wanted to see matching rings on their fingers and to be reminded of that commitment.

He wanted to marry her.

  
  


Eventually Ava woke up, a headache still pounding behind her eyes from her crying fit earlier. Despite what she could tell was a long nap from the state of the sky outside their bedroom window, she still felt physically and emotionally drained.

She sat up in bed, scrubbing at her face. The sun dress she had worn to the zoo was now wrinkled and her hair messy.

She wished she could take back that afternoon, rewind time and not even go to the fucking zoo.

Ava sighed, hugging her knees. “It’s ok, he didn’t know what it meant.” She closed her eyes, running her fingers through her hair with a note of finality, “I’m going to go out there and we’re going to go back to the way it used to be.” Her hair got snagged on her fingers and she grimaced, rising from the bed and retrieving a hairbrush, working it through her hair without patience as she thought stormily, “It’s going to go back to normal, and that’s fine.” She assured herself.

She pushed on the bedroom door, still brushing her hair. She saw Jaunik on the couch watching something rapturously, she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, schooling her features into something like nonchalance. This could work, they could go back to how it was, “Hey do you want curry for dinner or-”

Jaunik turned to her, a grin on his face, “Hey, wanna get married?”

Ava yelped, accidentally throwing her hairbrush at him. It beaned Jaunik between the eyes, making him growl and chitter before falling back, his hands clutched to his forehead.

“Oh my god!” Ava hopped over the coffee table to get to him, picking up the remote for a moment to stop whatever it had been that Jaunik had been watching before she came in, “Jaunik I’m so sorry! Are you ok?” Her hands hovered over his face awkwardly.

Jaunik sat up, rubbing at where the hairbrush had hit him on the forehead, “Yeah I’m ok.”

She shook her head, fixing some of his hair that had gone askew, “Good. Don’t scare me like that.”

Jaunik gave her a look, his ears perked forward in confusion. “I don’t understand, all I did was ask a question.”

Ava leaned back, once again trying for nonchalance as she picked up a couple of things that had been knocked off the coffee table. “Do you even know what getting married means?”

“Of course!” Jaunik perked up, eager to showcase his new knowledge. He gestured to the television screen, “I’ve been doing research!”

Ava huffed, looking through the curtain of her tangled hair at the screen and-

The woman on the screen was beautiful, her blond hair in perfect soft wisps around her face, daisies in her hair as she smiled, gentle and demure. The title of the movie was on the screen now that she had paused it.

“The Perfect Bride” A Hallmark movie. Jaunik was an hour and forty minutes in.

It was like a perfect indictment of all of her flaws, everything she couldn’t be and didn’t deserve and Jaunik had found out, and he’ll figure out that Ava isn’t, could never be-

“No.” Ava stated firmly, her hands balled into fists as she stared down at the floor.

Jaunik frowned, “Why not?”

Ava waved a hand frantically, “Because!”

Jaunik leaned closer, “Because what?”

“BECAUSE!” Ava gestured emphatically, trying to speak past the lump in her throat. How could she tell him that he’d found her deficiency? The one place she couldn’t measure up no matter how hard she tried? That there was something broken and unfixable in her and if he kept prodding in this direction he would see it and not want her anymore?

“It wont work!” Ava motioned desperately between the both of them, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, whispering angrily, “It won’t work.”

Jaunik stopped at that, he looked from Ava to the woman on the screen and-

-and to the love interest’s hands on the woman’s cheeks. His suavity, his assurance, his hands clawless and pink.

Even before coming to Earth he had known that he was wrong.

_ “Do you really think you’re worth anything the way you are?” _ Kereen had looked at him with disgust in her eyes that day on Alternia when they were kids. He had been keeping an injured ferret-lusus safe in the woods, away from her and his father, the little thing shivering between his hands, it’s heartbeat staccato against his palm. He wouldn’t let her feed it to her lusus, and she was angry, he knew she needed prey but he just couldn’t do it...

She shook her head,  _ “Who the hell would want a soft, tender-hearted idiot like you?”  _ She grit her teeth,  _ “People need someone strong to stand next to them, and you’ll never be that person.” _

And it was true, he was weak, and awkward and wrong in all of the most unacceptable ways in the eyes of the Alternian empire and its inhabitants but-

-but it had been so easy to forget here on Earth.

_ With her. _

But he could see it clearly again. Marriage was a union of equals, of two people becoming stronger together. She was so strong, carrying their relationship through the strength of her convictions and he was-

-just him.

“Ah.” He whispered quietly.

The affirmation hit Ava like a punch to the stomach. He saw what was obvious about her now. “Yeah.” She spat out bitterly, hating how the word made his shoulders slump.

_ I’m sorry,  _ Ava thought desperately, trying to keep the tears out of her eyes again,  _ I’m sorry that I’m broken, I’m sorry that I can’t be what you need but please, please stay anyways. _

“I…” Ava spoke quietly, trying to ignore the way both of their hearts were breaking. She shook her head and snatched her car keys from the table, “I’m going to go get us curry.”

She stopped at the door, her heart pounding in her ears as she gripped the frame hard to keep her hands from shaking. She turned back to him. “I’m sorry.” And with that she was out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Jaunik stood up, walking to the door slowly. He wanted to run after her, but couldn’t.

_ Look at me.  _ He thought bitterly.  _ I’m not even strong enough to chase after her and I really thought I could’ve been her husband. _

He pressed his forehead to the wood of the door, closing his eyes.  _ I’m sorry that I am the way that I am, I’m sorry that I’m me and not the person you deserve, I’m sorry that I’m a puzzle piece from another puzzle, that I can never quite fit, but if you let me I’ll try. I’ll try to be what you need me to be. _

He leaned against the door, sliding down until he was sitting on the linoleum, hugging his knees to his chest and watching his grey-taloned feet, wishing he was different.

Ava stood on the other side of the door, one hand over her mouth and the other wrapped around her stomach as she cried silently. She leaned back against the door, sliding down until she was seated on the dingy hallway carpet. She stared up at the fluorescent lights, wishing she was different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOOOOOO! LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT DOWN BELOW!


	3. bringing home the bacon, bagging a flamingo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaunik does some research on how to be a true manly man, Ava has a heart-to heart with Jess. Jaunik tries to bring home the bacon and both learn a very simple truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's finally the last chapter!
> 
> I might add an epilogue chapter in the future but for right now I hope you enjoy!

Jaunik woke that morning before Ava, the first rays of light peeking through the blinds on their bedroom window.

Ava’s face was mashed into her pillow, her wavy hair spilling out around her as she snored quietly. Jaunik felt a deep pang of fondness, brushing back her hair and tucking it behind an ear. 

He loved her so much, he knew he wanted every morning to be like this, waking up quietly to her drooling on the pillow and her lashes fluttering against the freckles on her cheeks. And for the first time in a long time his position next to her seemed insecure. He knew Ava loved him but there was a difference between loving someone and that person being a good partner, ultimately you needed both.

You can love someone but they can fail you. Unbeknownst to him he had been failing Ava in that critical aspect, and if he didn’t want to lose her, he’d have to adapt.

He kissed her on the forehead, Ava murmuring and clutching her pillow tighter, “I’ll figure this out,” He assured her, “And I’ll show you I can be a good partner in the human sense.”

And with that he shimmied out of bed to do some research.

In the living room he booted up his old portable husktop and opened the human version of Troogle, typing out what could be the most important question of his time on Earth.

Going through some of the forums Jaunik found some advice on how to be a good Earth man, particularly one in which human women found desirable.

  * Women loved a strong, macho man. He doesn’t wear his heart on his sleeves, instead he holds an air of mysterious aloofness that women found irresistible.
  * Women love someone who could provide for them. Men brought home the bacon.



Jaunik began to sweat, both he and Ava were vegans. What would they even do with the bacon when he brought it home?

  * Women loved men who were always confident. Real men aren’t afraid of anything.



Jaunik took notes, filling his little photographer’s field book before standing up from the chair and closing the portable husktop. He stood in their living room, adjusting the belt on his sleep pants as he got into the pose of what he felt was particularly ‘manly’, his shoulders squared, his knees slightly bent and his hands resting in fists at his hips. 

He furrowed his brow, squinting out into the empty room in a way that he felt was masculine but really looked a bit constipated. “Meat,” He tried saying out loud, lowering his voice an octave, “Sports!”  
  


Ava woke up, her hands outstretched and groping for the other body that should be beside her but not finding it. She rose from the twisted mess of blankets and pillows, groggy and confused, “Jaunik?”

When she realized that he really wasn’t in the room something twisted in her chest. When was the last time she’d woken up alone? 

_Well after yesterday can you really blame him for wanting to leave?_ Something traitorous in her mind hissed to her. _He finally figured out that there isn’t a future with you, not a real one anyways._

“Oh shut up!” Ava punched her pillow as if that would make the intrusive thought stop. She flopped back onto the mattress, pulling the pillow over her face and screaming into it for a moment before throwing it at the closed door.

She cuddled into Jaunik’s pillow instead, dully comforted by his smell even as tears began to prick in the corners of her eyes. “He’s not going to leave,” She tried to convince herself, but listening to her own voice she could hear the uncertainty, “We’re going to have a future together.”

Ava finally picked herself out of bed, kicking her pillow away from the door and stepping out into the living room. She saw Jaunik in the chair by the window, looking seriously out into the foggy grey morning.

Ava’s nervousness skyrocketed, Jaunik wasn’t usually so… still and emotionless. Usually the moment he noticed she was awake there was a peck on her cheek, chatter about breakfast and maybe a couple of bird puns sprinkled into the conversation. She grimaced, biting her lip as she turned to fill a mug with coffee, guilt blooming in her chest, what happened yesterday must’ve really affected him.

Ava was technically correct that what happened yesterday affected Jaunik, but not in the way she thought. Jaunik was in fact applying the research that cool and aloof meant manly and cool and was counting down the seconds that he handsomely brooded while staring out the window for maximum cool manly effect. When he reached 30 seconds in his head he broke the silence.

“Morning,” He greeted coolly.

That nearly made Ava jump out of her skin, spilling a bit of coffee on the counter. Somehow the drastic change made her feel like she was a kid in trouble again, or those times Sam would be passive aggressive after an argument. Had Jaunik ever been passive aggressive before? She doesn’t think she’s even seen him regularly aggressive before.

She whirled to look at him, nervously brushing back some of her messy hair, “Hey! Hi! Good morning!” 

Jaunik noted the blush on her face and was pleased to see that his plan of being a big cool manly man was totally working. 

Ava sat across from him trying to stop her leg from bouncing as he continued to just… not look at her, nervousness crawling along her spine. He stared out the window, holding a mug of-

Ava frowned, “Since when do you drink coffee?”

Jaunik froze, “I love coffee,” He lied. He clutched his manly drink and took an agonizing sip, not quite able to hide the grimace or the way his ears flicked down as he drank. He lowered his voice an octave, growling out in a manly way, “I like my coffee how I like my women.” Jaunik particularly liked that line, see Ava was supposed to ask ‘how do you like your coffee?’ at which point he could say something like ‘dark and full-bodied’ which he didn’t exactly know what that meant but the forum post he read said that it would make women swoon and-

Ava stared at him, not quite ready for any of this before she had her own cup of coffee, “Are you lowering your voice?”

Jaunik coughed, “No,” He growled out in the same artificially lower octave, “This is how I talk.”

Ava took a sip of her own coffee, staring over the rim at him distrustfully, “Okay…” She sighed, rubbing her hands together, she didn't know what he was doing but she could guess what it was about, “Jaunik, about yesterday.”

Jaunik, remembering one of the most important rules about being manly, sat his coffee cup down decisively, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Real manly men never talked about emotions.

Ava froze, holding her own coffee cup in both hands, her eyes wide, “Oh uh… Okay.”  
  


Later, after Ava had showered and left for work, Jaunik pumped his fist into the air. Yes! He had been so manly!

  
  
  


Ava that morning went to morning with a sick feeling of dread at the bottom of her stomach. She kept rethinking the morning’s conversation over and over. Jess, her friend and lab tech would try to engage her in conversation, but while she went through the motions her heart wasn’t in it.

“Hey,” Jess whispered to her over the operating table, “What’s up with you this morning? Did something happen?”

Ava sighed, concentrating on the cat she was currently spaying, “Me and Jaunik… I think we had a fight?”

Jess raised her eyebrows, “You... _think._.. you had a fight.”

Ava huffed, “He’s just… He’s acting differently. I’m kinda worried about him.”

Jess put a gloved hand to her shoulder, “It’ll be alright. Today is the day you guys usually go out for your lunch break, yeah? You can talk to him then.”

Ava smiled though it didn’t reach her eyes. She nodded to herself, trying to get excited to see him at lunch, instead of feeling like the gates of hell suddenly opened up at her feet, “Yeah, hopefully we can work it out at lunch.”

Jess grinned, “Good! Because I need you at your best this afternoon, we have a patient from the zoo coming.”

Ava huffed, “That should be interesting.” She finished the last of her stitches, checking the cat’s vitals, “Yeah, me and Jaunik will figure this out at lunch.”  
  


Between clients Ava called Jaunik, leaning against the hall on her vet’s practice, listening to the sounds of dogs and cats in their kennels as she waited for him to pick up the phone.

Jaunik was at his desk in their apartment, editing some photos before he sent them to the empress. He took a sip of coffee and gagged, “No, still tastes awful,” He whispered ruefully and reached for the can of dairy-free whipped cream on his desk.

Most of the morning had been spent trying to figure out how to make coffee taste bearable and at this point his mug was more almond milk, sugar and dairy-free whipped cream than anything else.

His phone rang, his ears flicking up when he recognized Ava’s picture pop up on his phone. He set his coffee cup down, a bit of whipped cream still on his cheek. “Alright!” He squared his shoulders and jaw, lowering his voice, “TIME FOR MAN-MODE.”

He leaned back in his chair suavely, or it would’ve been suave if he didn’t accidentally lean too far and almost fall out. After hastily righting himself he picked up the phone, “Sup,” He greeted in a low voice.

Ava stared down at her phone, “...Jaunik?”

Jaunik nodded, making a finger gun at the wall over his desk, “That’s me,” He purred. He had to yank the phone away from his face as lowering his voice that far made him cough, but then he yanked it back, “Don’t wear it out.”

Ava paused, “I don’t think that’s-” she shook her head, “Nevermind, I was wondering what you wanted to order when we had lunch together today.”

Jaunik’s ears perked up, “Oh! Can we order from that one place that has the good dumplings?” He coughed, lowering his voice and trying to hide his excitement, “If you know… you’re cool with that.”

Ava snorted, this morning’s tension melting away, “No you’re a good dumpling!” She giggled into the phone, “I’ll see you at noon!” She clicked off the call.

Jaunik groaned, hiding his face in his hands, “No! Dumplings aren’t manly! What was I thinking?”

Ava huffed, going through the rest of the morning’s work with considerably less stress.

Jaunik paced the apartment nervously, “Man-mode! Got to get into man-mode!” He dug through some of the old luggage he had from Alternia in the closet, eventually coming to the pair of nunchucks he had brought with.

“Man-mode!” He announced to the empty apartment, whipping the nunchucks around, “Man-GAH!” Just then Jaunik smacked himself in the face with the butt of one of the nunchucks.

  
  
  


Ava arrived at the couple’s usual spot in the park, takeaway in hand. When she saw Jaunik she froze, dropping the food and kneeling next to him to put a hand on his cheek, “What happened?”

Jaunik blushed, his ears drooping. There was a very prominent green bruise under one eye, “N-nothing,” He tried to deny before coughing and lowering his voice an octave, “I mean- Nothing I can’t handle.”

Ava snorted, trying to hold back a smile.

Jaunik’s shoulders slumped, his eyes going wide and betrayed, “ _I’m very tough!_ ” He insisted.

Ava laughed, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek, “I agree, you’re very tough.”

Jaunik couldn’t help but purr for a moment, leaning into her touch before remembering to clamp down on his emotions. He busied himself with unpacking the takeout, turning away so that she couldn’t see his blush.

Ava flopped down on the picnic blanket, enjoying the sun on her face, “This is nice.”

Jaunik hummed in agreement, sitting next to her.

Ava thought for a moment, thinking of how to best phrase what she was thinking, “I just...I just wanted to clarify something with you…”

Jaunik nodded seriously, sitting upright.

Ava played with the hem of her sleeve nervously, “We… we have a future...together...right?” She thought about living the rest of her life with him the way they had been, not married, but partners. That would be enough right? She couldn’t give him everything but they could be… enough.

Jaunik sighed out a breath of relief, thinking about a future where they married. He knew he wasn’t human, he wasn’t delusional, but he could be a good enough substitute. He nodded, “Y-yeah! We have a future.”

Ava let out a shaky breath, “Good. Good! I’m glad we’re on the same page.” She let her eyes close and relax, feeling the sunshine on her. “I don’t know what I was so worried about.”

Jaunik also let himself relax. He had done it! He had learned the correct way to be a human male and it worked. He hummed, admiring Ava’s long wavy black hair against the backdrop of the grass in the park. He eyed a couple of dandelions, the yellow blooms swaying slightly in the breeze. He plucked a couple and got to work.

Ava snorted, feeling him tuck something in her hair, “What’re you doing?”

Jaunik laughed, “You’ll see!”

It was the image that had caught him when he had watched the marriage documentary, the bride with flowers in her hair. He had wanted to see how it would look on Ava and so far it was breathtaking, better than he could’ve even imagined. The cheerful yellow of the dandelion suited her.

Ava realized what Jaunik was thinking of as well, the image that she had seen on the television screen had been haunting her ever since she knew that Jaunik knew what a marriage even was, like some terrible spectre of perfect femininity that she knew she could never live up to. It hurt to know that Jaunik was seeing something that she wasn’t, something she couldn’t ever be for him.

The fact that he was replacing daisies with dandelions made the image that much more ironic. Ava knew that she was sweaty from work, laying in a dirty New York park with dandelions in her hair. She was just about as far away from the perfect bride as she could be.

In the end that’s what all of this was, having her instead of anyone else was-

Well, it was replacing daisies with dandelions.

Ava sat up suddenly, shaking the dandelions from her hair, “Stop doing that!”

Jaunik held his hands back, “Doing what?”

“That!” Ava motioned with a hand, unwilling to look at him or else she felt like she might burst into tears, “You’re still-”

“Ah…” Jaunik looked down at the last dandelion in his hand, once again feeling foolish and ill-equipped. Putting flowers in your girlfriend’s hair isn’t manly, how stupid could he be? “I’m sorry.”

Ava groaned, and now he thinks he’s the one who has to apologize! She hissed a breath in through her teeth, “No don’t-”

“I’ll figure this out,” Jaunik assured her, a look of fear flitting across his face, “I have to go and figure this out.”

With that Jaunik stood up from their picnic and began to run through the park, something tense and panicked in the set of his shoulders.

Ava stood up from the picnic blanket, “Jaunik! Jaunik where are you going?”

When he didn’t come back Ava swore quietly to herself, “Why did I say that? God for the love of-” She kicked a trash can in frustration, a couple of bottles falling from the over-filled top, “-fucking christ.”

“Hey!” an old man on a bench looked disapprovingly at her, “That’s not very lady-like you know.”

Ava grumbled to herself, picking up the bottles and throwing them aggressively back onto the top of the trash can. She pointed a finger at the old man, “Eat a dick.”

  
  
  


Ava slammed open the back door of her veterinary practice, startling Jess and the very elderly beagle she had been working with, “OH MY GOD JESS! JAUNIK HATES ME NOW!” Letting the door slam back behind her, Ava leaned against it, sliding down to the floor.

Jess hushed the borking beagle before kneeling down on the floor in front of her friend, “Alright, start from the beginning.”

About ten minutes of Ava explaining the weekend’s and this morning’s events as the both of them tended to the old beagle who needed a checkup, Jess gave her a critical look. “Of course he’s acting a bit cold Ava, you probably really hurt his feelings!”

Ava groaned, “I know, I know…”

Jess made a frustrated motion with a hand, the old beagle following the movement and putting his head under her hand for scritches. “Isn’t he your perfect guy? Until now you kept coming in here gushing about the latest squirrel he saved and showing me picture after artistic picture of pigeons and rats that he took. Why is marrying him such a big deal? You obviously love him!”

Ava threw her head back, “I’m not-”

Jess threw her rubber gloves to the table, “Oh not fucking this again,” She squared her shoulders and mimicked Ava in a whiney voice, “Oh boo hoo I’m not _marriage material!_ ”

Ava put her hands to her hips, “Hey!”

Jess put her own hands on her own hips, “Well it’s true! Are you really going to let the ghost of your ex boyfriend haunt all of your relationships?”

Ava shook her head, bewildered, “But I’m not-”

Jess sighed, throwing up a hand, “What? You’re not what?”

Ava threw her own hands up into the air, “I don’t know! I’m not kind, gentle, feminine, or any of that other wifey-type crap! What if we get married and I’m terrible at it! I can’t even cook Jess!”

Jess huffed, “Oh fuck off. If you weren’t kind you wouldn’t have spent weeks helping that pitbull with a broken leg. If you weren’t gentle you wouldn’t’ve been able to take care of those kittens someone found in a sack and brought in. You don’t take anyone’s shit and you have a sharp tongue in an argument, but that doesn’t mean you don’t care and love for things in your own way.”

Ava sniffed, wiping a cheek with the back of her hand.

“Also, it’s the fucking 21st century and Jaunik is a literal alien from outer space,” Jess laughed wryly, “If you think he cares about traditional gender roles then you’re even dumber than I thought.” Jess looked pensive for a moment, “You should probably learn how to cook though, not because of any gender bullshit, but because the amount you spend on takeaway is ridiculous.”

Ava barked out a laugh, wiping her face with a sleeve, “You have a point there…”

Jess huffed,“There’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere, come on spit it out.”

Ava paused for a moment, biting her bottom lip, “I...I don’t know how,” She fiddled with her sleeve, looking pensive, “I don’t know how to be married and that… that scares me a little.”

Jess snorted, “You’re one of the smartest people I know, which is why it’s always so surprising when you act so dumb.”

Ava’s nose wrinkled with indignation, “Hey!”

Jess flicked her on the nose, “Hey genius what do we do when we don’t know how to do something that’s important to you and the people you care about?”

When Ava didn’t answer Jess leaned back with a smile, “Well that’s when you _fucking learn_. Nobody says it will be easy, and quite frankly it will be tough. But when you care about someone you make an effort.”

Ava nodded, thinking furiously.

Jess smacked her on the arm, “Now get that dumb look off your face we have the patient from the zoo here.”

Ava straightened up, putting on her doctor’s jacket and gloves.

Jess leaned out of the doorway, “Oh and when you get home, fuck your boyfriend and then have a nice long conversation, ok? Or whatever happens first.”

Ava threw a glove at her.  
  


Tia Wong was a cashier at the local corner grocery. She was mostly dealing with tourists buying sunscreen and cheap sandwiches so it surprised her when a grey hand put a packet of bacon on the counter.

She looked up to see a tall lanky troll with a green bruise under one eye. He seemed on the verge of tears looking down at the pack of bacon but there was also a determined set to his shoulders.

She gave him a wary smile, she had seen customers with that look on their face (usually in the middle of the night buying alcohol or plan b) and was trying to figure out what to say in case he burst into tears in the middle of the shop. “Find everything ok?”

The troll nodded vaguely, “Did you know that pigs are smarter than dogs?”

Tia quickly rang up the bacon and put it in a bag. Oh god this one’s going to be a crier, isn’t he? “Uh… no I didn’t know that. Your total is 4.50, would you like-”

The troll sniffed, definitely on the verge of tears. “They’re very social animals...They make decisions on where to forage and where to defecate together as a group.”

Tia smiled awkwardly, “Cash or cre-”

The troll was definitely crying now. “They have specific oinks for everything from food to love and have a verbal pattern as complex as dolphins!”

“Are you going to pay for your bacon or not?”

The troll fished out a five dollar bill, “They can be trained to sniff out bombs better than dogs.”

Tia handed him the plastic bag, “Please leave.”

The troll took the bag and held it to his chest, the misty look in his eyes worsening, “This was once a living breathing animal with a complex inner life.”

“There are customers in the line behind you sir.”

The troll suddenly got a determined look on their face, “I don’t know why this is a requirement, but if it’s for Ava then I’ll do it!” He ran out of the store, carrying the bag under one arm, “FOR AVA!”

Tia watched him leave, shaking her head. “...God I hate New York.”  
  


Ava cut into the clinic’s newest patient, Jess was on the other side of the operating table, keeping the mass of pink feathers steady.

“God, this Flamingo smells like shrimp,” She groused.

“Weird,” Ava answered back flatly, “Do you think it’s because of all the fucking shrimp they eat?”

Jess rolled her eyes, “Oh shut up.”

Ava squinted down at the incision site, “No wonder she’s been slow to eat, there’s definitely something here in the gizzard…”

Jess didn’t answer though, too busy blowing a pink feather out of her face.

Ava reached in with her tweezers, pulling out-

-Ava huffed out a laugh, shaking her head, “Of course.”

Jess blew away another pink feather, “What? What’s so funny?”

Ava sighed, dropping the little metal thing into a specimen container, “You wouldn’t get it. Come on, let’s sew her up and get her into the recovery room.”  
  


Jaunik had failed. He sat next to the little homemade grave in the park, the packet of bacon peeking out slightly from the side. A popsicle stick and his receipt making up the gravestone in which Jaunik had written “Once a wonderful pig.”

Jaunik sobbed, wiping green tears from his cheeks. Most park goers avoided the troll, carefully not looking in his direction and dukcing their heads to the sounds of his sobbing.

“I’m sorry Ava I just couldn’t do it,” He whispered to himself, “They were alive once.” He rested his chin on his knees, “And you agreed with me on pigeons and factory farming so maybe you’d agree with me on this?” He groaned, taking his horns in his hands and hiding his face behind his knees, “Oh who am I kidding? I’m a horrible substitute for a human husband.”

“Hey uh… troll dude?” A human jogger had stopped next to Jaunik and the bacon grave. He has expansive shoulders and an impressive physique on display as he jogged in nothing but a pair of shorts, slicked back hair and a barbed wire tattoo around a bicep. “Are you alright?”

Jaunik noted the ring on his finger, the confident swagger. “How did you do it?”

The guy seemed taken aback. “Yo what?”

Over the next ten minutes Jaunik laid out the whole sordid tale to the stranger, the other man squatting on a pair of impressive calves, listening intently.

“And that’s why I have to become a man!” Jaunik explained, waving his hands, “Or at least, a good approximation, but I keep messing up!”

“Oof,” The man slapped Jaunik roughly on the back, almost making the troll fall over, “That’s fuckin’ rough dude.”

Jaunik sniffed, rubbing a hand across his cheek.

The man sighed, “Look let’s getcha figured out, alright?” He extended a hand, “The name’s Tony by the way.”

Jaunik smiled, letting the man help him to his feet, “Jaunik.”

Tony put an arm around Jaunik’s shoulders, “Today, mark my words dude, we’re going to have an extensive education on all things manly, my bro.”

  
  
  


Ava and Jess were closing up for the day. Jess sweeping up a pile of pink feathers as Ava finished some paperwork. However her eye kept wandering to the specimen jar at the corner of her desk, something glittering within.

“Hey Jess,” Ava asked, “Can you finish up here?”

Jess leaned on the broom, looking quizzical, “Yeah. Why?”

Ava took the specimen jar and pocketed it, a determined look on her face. “I’m making an effort.”  
  


Jaunik was taken to a bar by Tony who was now sporting a shirt, though he still wore his sunglasses despite the fact that it was quickly getting dark.

Tony smacked Jaunik on the back encouragingly, “Don’t worry, my bros know all about what it means to be a dude.”

Tony took Jaunik to a booth near the back where an assortment of men were already gathered

“Alright!” Tony greeted enthusiastically, “Bro-pack meet Jaunik, Jaunik meet the bro-pack!”

Jaunik waved awkwardly, “Hi Bro-pack!”

Tony motioned over to a muscular dude with long blonde hair and a shell necklace, “That’s my main dude Joey.”

Joey gave Jaunik a lazy salute, “S’up bro.”

Tony clapped a bald man with an impressive amount of tattoos on the shoulder, “And this is Snakebite.”

Jaunik squinted, “Why do they call you snakebite?”

Snakebite grinned, opening his mouth to reveal a tongue that had been split.

Jaunik nodded, “Ah gotcha.”

Tony then playfully punched an extremely large man on the shoulder. The man had chest hair spilling out from the top of the wifebeater and an impressive beard. A gold belt buckle gleamed at Jaunik from on the man’s faded jeans. “And this is Diesel Dan.”

Jaunik nodded, “Hello Mr. Diesel.”

Diesel Dan nodded, accepting the handshake. “Please,” He answered in a voice gruff from cigarettes, “Mr. Diesel was my father, call me Dan.”

“So!” Tony grinned at Jaunik, “Are you ready to learn all things manly?”

Jaunik nodded grimly, “I’m ready.”

  
  
  


Ava shimmied into one of her best dresses, brushing out her hair and dabbing on a bit of perfume. She pushed the trays into the oven, setting the timer and double-checking the timer. It was take and bake instead of homemade but hey it was a start.

She took the little thing from the specimen container and washed it under the sink, watching it change colors under the stream of water.

She set the table, opened the wine and lit the candles.

And then… She waited.  
  


Jaunik so far was having a surprisingly wonderful time. Over a round of beer for the humans and a glass of fruit juice for himself he found out that Snakebite had a great recipe for vegan chocolate cake, Joey and Tony went to the zoo every month, and Diesel Dan…

...Well Diesel Dan agreed with him about pigeons.

Diesel Dan wiped his big craggy face with a napkin from the bar, “It just ain’t right,” He sobbed, “Lil feathery fuckers had no say in the matter, and people all up treat ‘em no better than rats. NO BETTER THAN RATS!”

Jaunik sniffed, patting the man’s massive hand on the table, “I know just how you feel Diesel Dan.”

Diesel Dan howled, collapsing onto the table sobbing.

Snakebite patted Jaunik on the shoulder. “But if you want to make it really moist, the secret is half a cup of applesauce.”

Jaunik smiled, “I’ll remember that! Neither me or Ava are very good cooks but I’d like to try it!”

Snakebite nodded knowingly, “My girl Alyssa doesn’t know how to cook either, so that’s my job in the house! I cook and in return well-” He shivered, “In return she takes care of the spiders.”

Diesel Dan lifted his head up from the table, “The other day a wasp got in the house and my dear Cheryl-” He sniffed with pride. “Well she went right up to that varmint and got ‘em under a cup!” He put a hand to his chest, “She ain’t afraid of nothin, I love her so much.”

“Oh yeah,”Jaunik countered, “Once I was on the porch at night and a _bat_ flew into our apartment. Ava caught it in a shoebox and let it go outside.”

“Woah…” Joey nodded, “Your girlfriend is _badass_.”

Jaunik grinned, “Not only that but she watched ‘Marley and Me’ and didn’t shed a single tear.”

“What?” Tony took off his sunglasses, “But the dog dies in the end!”

Diesel Dan started to cry again, “MARLEY WAS SUCH A GOOD LIL DAWG!”

Snakebite put a hand on Jaunik’s forearm, “I mean this in the nicest way possible that your girlfriend is a stone cold bitch and I’m both afraid and in awe of her.”

Jaunik sniffed, looking down into his glass of empty juice, “I know! I love her so much!”

Tony reached across the table and patted Jaunik’s forearm, “See I wanted to show you that there’s no right way to be a dude, yanno? Snakebite’s a vegan, Diesel Dan cries every time he sees an ASPCA commercial-”

“They show all them lil cats n’ dogs in crates lookin’ sad!” Diesel Dan interjected, “I can’t handle none lil cat’s n’ dogs in crates lookin’ sad!”

Joey this time put a hand on Jaunik’s shoulder, “Gay, straight, trans, space alien, you’re all welcome into the brotherhood. Being a guy is so much more than being a douche and eating meat.”

Tony put a hand on Jaunik’s other shoulder, “And a marriage is more than just stuffy gender roles, it’s gonna be about the kinda guy you are appreciatin’ the kinda gal she is, and vise versa.”

Jaunik sniffed, hiding his face in his hands, “You guys are all so nice!”

Snakebite sniffed, “So what do you say? Do you want to be the Bro-pack’s newest member?”

Joey perked up, “We’re going bird-watching next week!”

Tony pumped a fist, “I’m gonna spot me a fuckin’ AMERICAN KESTREL!”

Jaunik gasped, “I love birdwatching! Of course I want to be a member of the Bro-pack!”

Diesel Dan picked up all four of them at once, crying while swaying them back and forth, “Welcome to the Bro-pack lil’ buddy!”

Once Jaunik was set down he wiped his eyes, grinning wildly, “Thanks bro-pack! Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go home to my girlfriend!” He ran out the bar happily to the tune of Snakebite cheering and Diesel Dan sobbing.

Diesel Dan wiped his eyes with the hem of his wifebeater, “Aw hell, ain’t young love wonderful?”

Joey turned to Tony, “Were we ever like that?”

Tony took Joey’s hand and kissed his knuckles, right over the gold ring on his hand, “Bro, being married to you is the adventure of a lifetime. You light up my fuckin’ world bro.”

Joey put a hand over his heart, his eyes going misty, “ _Bro_ …”

Tony nodded in agreement, “Bro…” He whispered tenderly back, the both of them leaning in for a kiss.  
  


When Jaunik opened the door to their apartment late that night he saw Ava at their kitchen table, her head lifting up where she had obviously fallen asleep, the candles in the middle of the table having gone low and drippy.

“Jaunik?” Ava whispered.

Jaunik looked over the table, a hand on his heart, “You cooked?”

Ava huffed, tucking a piece of hair behind an ear, “Don’t get too excited, it’s just take and bake.”

Jaunik put his hands to his hips, “Still! What’s the occasion?”

Ava bit her lip, thinking how best to word this. “I’m… I’m making an effort.” She rubbed her hands together nervously, “I...I don’t know how to be a wife, and for the longest time I thought I didn’t have what it even took to be a wife, like there was something wrong with me that would make that fundamentally impossible.”

Jaunik knelt down next to where she was sitting at the table, “What? You would be an amazing wife! You’re beautiful and tough and flowers look beautiful in your hair and everything! You even agree with me about pigeons!”

Ava snorted, covering her face in her hand, “Oh god of course that’s all you needed.”

Jaunik smiled leaning in so that their foreheads touched, “Of course… I thought I had to be a better man to be your husband…”

Ava shook her head dismayed, “Is that why you spent all morning lowering your voice? Jaunik you couldn’t be a better man for me, nobody could! You’re sweet and kind and I love the way you look at everything like it’s beautiful.” She kissed him gently on the nose, “And you even agree with me about pigeons.”

Jaunik laughed, nuzzling her gently. He took her head in his hands and looked at her warmly, “Ava I love you. I don’t know exactly what kind of man I am yet, but I know the kind of man I am loves the kind of woman you are. I’ll wait however long you need to get married, and if you’re never ready then that’s ok too. I just know I want to spend the rest of my life next to you.”

Ava sniffed, punching him playfully in the chest, “You can’t just go around town saying shit that heartfelt and sweet, Jesus Christ that should be illegal.”

Jaunik smiled at her, “I’m not going around town saying that, I’m this sappy just for you.”

Ava smiled, pushing lightly on his chest, “So stand up you big lug I want to do something.”

Jaunik stood up, watching Ava slide down to her knees. She took something out of the pocket in her dress and showing it to him.

“It’s the same one you threw,” Ava explained, the dolphin-shaped mood ring glinting in the light, “Jaunik will you-”

“Wait, wait!” Jaunik got onto one knee as well. “I wanted to be the one kneeling for this!”

Ava snorted, “We can’t both be on our knees! I’m trying to make a big gesture!”

Jaunik held her hands, “Why not?”

Ava shook her head, laughing, “Oh my god fine.” She presented the ring again, “Jaunik, will you be my husband?”

Jaunik paused, “That depends.”

Ava’s face fell, “Depends on what?”

Jaunik leaned in, a shit-eating grin on his face, “You’ll be my wife at the same time, right?”

Ava snorted, “Oh my god yes, now put your stupid ring on.”

Jaunik laughed, obediently putting the ring on his finger. “What happens next?”

“Well,” Ava leaned in, “by the sounds of it, the rest of our lives.”

Jaunik leaned in as well. “I like the sound of that.”

They kissed, both kneeling on their kitchen floor, not knowing what the future held but willing to face it together. 

The kind of woman Ava was, loving the kind of man Jaunik was.

And the kind of man Jaunik was, loving the kind of woman Ava was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading! please comment if you enjoyed I LOVE hearing from people.
> 
> Thank you so much!

**Author's Note:**

> Haha I know I dropped off the face of the earth a while ago when I got my job and now here I am posting something new and not even updating my exisiting works like I should've.
> 
> WHATS THE DEAL WITH THAT?
> 
> But in all seriousness I hope you enjoy! It's just a cute little premise with some of that sweet sweet character development. I first thought of this fic as a Roxy/Tav fic but both of them are doing different stuff in my series, and then they started morphing into different people anyways so uh, behold! Some MORE OCs!
> 
> Love seeing comments on my works so don't feel shy if ya wanna say hi ;3


End file.
